Meridian survey crew chief, Mo Sykes, gets the credit for these crisp clean shots while surveying the existing structure at Burnett Ditch Crossing along US 93 for the Idaho Transportation Department near Mackay, Idaho. In Mo’s words, “I was surveying section corners in Custer County, Idaho and it’s a beautiful place. The mountains in the background are part of the Lost River Range, which contains Mount Borah, the tallest in Idaho. Surveying section corners is definitely the most exciting part of any project.”
Meridian Engineering completed Surveying and Right of Way Design for 5 parcels of Highway 89 on the way to Garden City while working with Kimley Horn as the lead designers. This was an emergency project that was imperative for timely completion due to frequent semi-trucks losing their brakes while coming down the hill out of Logan Canyon.
This solution funded by UDOT helps slow run away trucks down by using cable wire nets before the truck can reach Bear Lake Boulevard and possibly crash into town, which has occurred several times resulting in frequent destruction of town property. This project required great coordination while working with UDOT and Garden City. Deliverables included Base Mapping of Existing Surface utilizing LiDAR Point Cloud Extraction and the Development of final Right of Way Plans and Documents that were used during R/W negotiations with landowners. We hope the completed ramp has brought an essence of security back to the Garden City community.
Jacobsen Construction New Headquarters, Salt Lake City, Utah
Meridian Engineering has recently completed the civil design record drawings and construction observation for Jacobsen Construction’s new company headquarters.
Jacobsen Construction Company has settled in at last in its newly built modern headquarters at 5181 W. Amelia Earhart Drive near the Salt Lake City International Airport. This building was designed to be accessible to the convergence of industry, travel and hospitality.
The three-story, 63,000 square-foot facility includes modern workspace for conducting high-end business including several spacious conference rooms; for the staff such as a gym, yoga and meditation spaces; “living rooms” designed for informal collaborations; numerous private offices with floor-to-ceiling windows; a training room with hi-tech presentation ability; and a café area designed to inspire staff intra-connections.
As part of the a/e/c design lead by VCBO architect team and constructed by Jacobsen, Meridian provided design grade surveying, boundary analysis, amended subdivision platting, and Civil Site Design for new parking including electric car charging station, drop off area, plaza areas and provisions for future development and site access. In addition, Meridian provided utility design for service connections, proposed and future fire water supply, and construction layout services. With the facility currently in use, Jacobsen folks are moved in and patiently waiting for the spring to bloom some warm green landscape outside.
This year’s annual UCLS Conference, was held February 17-19, 2021 at the Dixie Convention Center in St. George, Utah with over 270 attendees, including several employees from Meridian Engineering. The conference is organized for Utah based professionals to stay current with best practices, latest laws and review the newest technology for the industry. Meridian’s ROW and survey team were happy to be involved throughout the conference, comprising of break-out sessions of key industry topics like State and Territorial Road Laws, GIS for Surveyors, and panel discussions on Ethics, Professional Consequences of Poor Decisions, and even a mock arbitration panel.
Our lead surveyor, Michael Nadeau, was a panelist for the Mock Arbitration session based on an arbitration that transpired in early 2020 where Michael was a panel member in the real arbitration proceedings authorized by the Property Rights Ombudsman’s Office. The arbitration involved a roadway in Weber County. The question posed to the arbitration panelists was, “Where is the location of the County Road” and involved land granted to the State of Utah in 1896 as a school section with settlers settling the area in 1859. The discussion and final arbitration award evolved into protecting the landowner’s bona fide property rights that had transpired prior to statehood. This knowledge is powerful when solving property boundary issues during the analysis stage of any given project related to 150 year old boundaries. As a Past Chairman of the Council, Michael also assisted with the Oath of Office for the new Executive Committee for 2021.
The conference can be a fun getaway as it is usually held in warmer climates, like the joint conference planned in Las Vegas next year. Two members of our team, Rob Hickman and Tyler Baron were able to participate in the skeet shoot competition with long-time Meridian colleague, Bryan Westover of HDR. It’s always a good time when Meridian employees can network with fellow associates and peers on this level.
At the end of the day, our team looks forward to the annual event for receiving professional development credits, networking with like-minded surveyors and just to recharge.
Meridian’s Survey Division Manager, Michael Nadeau has worked for the firm for over 18 years, serving as a Project Manager and Survey Coordinator with some of Utah’s largest entities including UDOT, DFCM, Salt Lake City, PacifiCorp and the LDS Church. Michael brings confidence to his clients with his professional style of management, design support, surveying, mapping, right of way design, and construction oversight.
All who know him would agree his accolades are well deserved. Michael’s dedication to the profession spans multiple facets and has impacted many other Surveyors in the community with his leadership and contributions, including: Adjunct Instructor at Salt Lake Community College and Utah Valley University, Chairman of the Surveying Program Advisory Committee at SLCC, Chairman of the Western Federation of Professional Surveyors (WFPS), WFPS Director for the Utah Council of Land Surveyors (UCLS), Past Chairman of the UCLS and Active Member of the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS), and the International Right-Of-Way Association (IRWA).
Employees and field crews at Meridian will vouch that Michael is an enthusiastic manager to work with because of his zeal and go-getter attitude. “He always inspires us to do our best work every day”. As a life-long learner, Michael is an advocate for other employee’s individual strengths and encourages each of us with continuing education and professional development by building talent and skills, attending conferences, attaining licenses, or joining affiliations.
Michael’s wife, Sheri has been supportive of his committed work ethic and required life balancing. In her words, “Mike is a hard worker, loves his profession and is dedicated to success.” Darryl Fenn, President of Meridian Engineering adds, “Mike has truly grown and matured to become one of the best surveyors this generation has known. Mike has applied himself to learn his profession in all aspects of surveying for the benefit of our clients. He is self-driven and forward thinking. He models what a surveyor should be to his students, co-workers and peers. We, at Meridian are proud of Mike and his accomplishments.”
Meridian is thankful to have such a key member of the intermountain based Survey community as an employee for the last 2 decades. We will be having a celebration luncheon in his honor at our corporate office on March 3, 2021.
